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So Bad, It’s Good: Miami Connection

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I love terrible movies: The Room, Birdemic, Velocipastor. If there is a movie with a nonsensical plot, I want to know about it and watch it. It will join my collection of lovable movies that are objectively bad but are fun to watch anyway. The next movie to join that collection is Miami Connection. And my nonsensical plot, I truly mean that as I can barely describe what happens.

We start our journey watching a cocaine deal when ninjas attack. (Yes, ninjas. Stop asking questions.) Then we end up at a club where a new band is singing, but we don’t like them for reasons. (I’m pretty sure they stole jobs, maybe…) A gang associated with the ninjas tries to drive this band off, but they all have black belts in Taekwondo and the power of friendship on their side. On top of this “plot,” the actors tried their best, and that is honestly all that I could ask of them. It’s pure 80s cheese in the best ways and a must-watch in my opinion. It is already on the list of movies I’m forcing my friends to watch so I can watch the horror and joy on their faces.

Along That Yellow Brick Road Pt 10

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I don’t think I’ve ever been so ready to follow someone else in a series before. Usually, I love listening to the continual development of the characters that we have grown to love at this point. I’m so tired of Dorothy at this point that I was nearly crying with happiness when told that we would be following someone else in Rinkitink of Oz.

This time, we follow a Prince as he tries to save his parents and the people from the evil conquerors who showed up one day to capture everyone. While there is a hint of magical help, we still get to follow a boy who struggles and is constantly making mistakes, like a kid should. He was relatable and always trying to think things through. It was adorable and very somewhat engaging. I just wish there was another ending. All the characters from the most recent adventure meeting everyone from previous adventures has gotten tiring. It is about a two-to-three-chapter spectacle every time, and I’ve just stopped caring. It was cute the first couple of times, but ten books in, it’s gotten old. If only Baum’s Army of Children told him that.

Old New Machines

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I have a love-hate relationship with the classics. Some, I believe, are amazing and deserve their legendary setting in the halls of the library. Others, I’m not too sure about. This is one I’m not too sure about: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The entire time, we are listening to a guy talk about another guy. That’s it; that’s the plot. No subterfuge or secret meanings, no analogy for something else. I was expecting a twist so badly that I thought the characters we were being spoken to about were fake the entire time, something ala Jekyll and Hyde. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was a book about a steamboat captain taking about the atrocities of colonialism through the lens of something absolutely amazing. There was nothing else to the dehumanization of nearly everyone else, or those who wanted more money. It was just what it was, unless that was the entire point: a book about the very real perspective of colonialism from an old man who thought that was all his life would grant him as we plundered the world for more of its resources. That’s also something to think about when considering this a classic: whether the accurate depiction of a time far away is what makes it amazing.

Super Bugs Everywhere

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What if everyone had a secret bug within them? Now, I already feel the shivers running down everyone’s spines. But what if I told you it gave you superpowers? Now, that would be pretty cool. Except there’s a catch: there’s a super-secret government agency after you to prevent you from having your bug. That is the premise of Mushi-Uta. Watching this anime left me wanting more. Not only were the characters fully fleshed out, but I could understand the motivations of both “sides”: the government agents and those who wanted to keep their bugs and live in peace. I really wish there were more, but I think I’m going to have to find the light novels to get a full grasp of the story because there is definitely more there, and I want it. Unfortunately, there might not have been an official English release, but I will take whatever I can at this point. Wish me luck in this endeavor.

Along That Yellow Brick Road Pt 9

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I have journeyed back to the land of Oz and was met with utter confusion. Apparently, Baum was ordered to do something from the Army of Children, his words. This time, we were introduced to Bill and Trot because the children demanded it. Apparently, while The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth book in the “Oz” series, it is also the third and final book in the “Trot & Cap’n Bill” series. The Army demanded to know what would happen if Trot and Bill somehow landed in Oz, and I was apparently supposed to know that another series was in production alongside. What annoyed me the most was that I was already expected to know who they were, but I suppose it wasn’t that hard. It was just another part of Oz with a girl who acts exactly like Dorothy and an elderly man who tries to keep her out of trouble. Unfortunately, it was a story that we heard before, except that the girl’s name was Trot and the man didn’t have a mysterious title. There was a talking animal, so maybe that makes up for the tired old story. Either way, it was a quick read, so it didn’t waste that much of my time, and it was okay. That’s about all I can say. It was okay.

Scientific Deja Vu

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I generally love reading a mixture of nonfiction alongside my fictional exploits: a mix of science, history, or psychology is usually my go-to. This time, I got a bit of all of it with science, military history, and philosophical conundrums with The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. I thought I was just going to get some of the uncovered documents from the Manhattan Project, as they were developing what was revolutionary technology. Instead, I got science lessons that I partially forgot. Instead of just discussing the making of the bomb, we discussed the scientific progress that led to that initial thought process. I was reading about chemical and physical theories I was pretty sure I threw into the dumpster of tests past. It is also weird learning about these scientific concepts in a historical aspect, as it seems that all these people personally knew or knew of each other: Bohr, the Curies, Fermi, and Einstein were connected and conversing with and about each other.

Overall, the book was a fantastic delve into the science of all the work that was necessary for the making of this bomb, along with some of the political exploits. As a scientist myself, it was interesting to see that science was not in a vacuum as I like to think of it; science itself was being shaped by the world around, for better or for worse. In fact, it is a deep book that does need some background knowledge of chemistry and physics to understand the intricacies, as Rhodes does not hold your hand; he throws you right in the deep end. I did end up skimming parts of the last chapter because that is where the “after” is described, and some of the descriptions from the people on site were horrific and stomach-turning. Again, science, unfortunately, does not happen in a vacuum.

Welcome 2026

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It’s a brand new year. Last year was pretty interesting. I finished grade school, and I started a job. This year, I am going to try to be more present and move forward with some of the projects that I’ve been thinking about. While I wouldn’t explicitly talk about new or old projects until I feel they’ve come to a good point where I’ll definitely finish. I’m going to see how this works. Also, as for being more present, I mean updating more regularly and maybe spending time on some social media. I’m more present on Reddit, even if I am mainly lurking. (Anything else should be in the about section.) I hope everyone has a wonderful year, and I’m looking forward to seeing what 2026 has in store with us.

Let’s Solve a Puzzle Pt 4

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Let me start by saying, “I am confusion.” I went into watching the fourth Saw movie, not expecting much. The third movie was a good enough ending in my opinion, and the story could have been done. But no, I am more confused about the story than I was before and putting more pieces together than the creators probably would have wanted. There is really no real way of describing the story without too many spoilers (if you know, you know). While this is the weakest movie in the franchise so far, my need for answers is overcoming my distaste for it.

The movie honestly starts immediately, and there is no time to gently get yourself ready. As soon as the opening title cards are over, you are in it. While I did like that the movie immediately started and got going, they did a bad job of interesting me in the different characters. The only thing that was really keeping me engaged was knowing that the story would have to get to a certain point and the reappearance of characters they did well to introduce before. While there were new puzzles, the main “puzzle” of the movie was the same as a previous one, with someone who should have known better. I was honestly rolling my eyes most of the time. While I’ll be watching the rest of this franchise, it is definitely to only answer questions and not because I can’t stop thinking about the story and trying to work out different clues or situations. Definitely not that.

Let’s Solve a Puzzle Pt 3

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I’ve just finished watching the third Saw movie and am slightly confused. I am somewhat happy with the story, but there’s more… First, this movie is definitely not for the squeamish, as the body horror is very hard to stomach, and it should come with an epilepsy warning. Also, my theory from the last movie was both correct and wrong. I just knew there was something weird about the second movie, and I was smart enough to pick up on it even though I didn’t know what. It was somewhat explained toward the end. Also, this movie kind of pissed me off.

While this movie does include an escape room for someone to escape, I feel that this person is the worst. He stands there. Where people in the other movies were trying to figure out the puzzles or freaking out, this guy just stands there. In fact, there are no puzzles; he just has to do something and fast. In horror movies, I sometimes get mad when people do stupid things, but at least they are doing something. I have never been so mad at a horror movie “protagonist.” Can I even call him a protagonist? No one really is in these movies, except Kerry; she’s awesome.

The last thing that confuses me is that this movie feels like it is the perfect ending for the series, yet there are more movies. At this point, we have reached a suitable stopping point, especially as it appears to be shifting from a psychological thriller to a more gory horror. I’m going to watch the fourth movie to see if it’s even worth commenting on the rest series. I know it’s a classic, but at a certain point, too many sequels spoil the franchise.

Let’s Solve a Puzzle Pt 2

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I’m back after watching the second movie in the Saw franchise, where instead of two people stuck in an escape room, there are seven. The puzzles were back and still blew my mind. I did get some of them, then there were others that were head scratchers, and I was still piecing everything together at the end. (Is it weird that I was slightly proud if I solved a puzzle before the characters? They technically have more time to figure things out than I do.) The other interesting thing was that there is a converging outside plot line that really kept the intensity high.

This movie was interesting in that it introduced a group dynamic to everything. Not only did they have to worry about solving the puzzles, but they also had to worry about others. While the puzzles were still surrounding human desperation, I’m not too sure that that’s entirely true. Probably just part of it. Connecting back to everything in the first movie, and all that we learned in this one, I’m suspicious of some of the motives. It will be interesting to see if my theories turn up with anything, or if it’s just the writers messing with our heads. I could have done with more of the type of body horror from the last movie, where you didn’t really see anything, you just knew it was happening because of the context and other character interactions. So, if you are squeamish, this probably isn’t the film for you.